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Zo, hello, and welcome to Talking Card with Glenn Hobby and today that you just made the juice here. We have another mini tool for the day. This one is all about grading. This is grading 101. A lot of people are just getting into the hobby. So this episode is gonna focus on the ins and outs of grading, why you would want to grade your cards, what to look for, where to grade, how to grade. We're gonna dive deep into those things for this mini stode. Great for beginners if you've been grading before. You might find some helpful tips in here, but this is mostly for people that are new to the hobby. First thing you need to do is ask yourself, why do you want to grade? Is this for a PC card? Is it to increase the value of the card? Do you just want it sledge authentic without a grade? So, first we're gonna go over the reasons to grade for your PC. Uh people may tell you that grading for your PC is not worth it. That is nonsense. Your PC could be graded cards, it could only be tens, it could be whatever you want. But remember, PC, personal collection, personal, what you want. So don't let people tell you that a card is not worth grading just because it's for your PC. If your PC uh you want it to include graded cards, you want it to be including cards that you pulled that you want graded, go for it. Grade what you want, collect what you want. The biggest reason that people grade though is to increase the value of their cards. The thing I'm mostly going to discuss modern cards here, that is what I collect and what I have experienced here. For modern cards, if you are looking for a way to increase the value of that card, only grade that card if you think it will gem, as in you think you will get a gem mint 10. If it's a nine, you're generally not worth grading. Usually the cost of it to get graded, you'll be lucky to breaking even. This is for ultra modern. Keep that in mind. The other thing to think about if you're planning to sell to increase value, are you planning to sell right away? Don't forget about turnaround time. PSA can take six months or more to grade sometimes to the lowest level. They can have backups where it takes even longer than that. So just something to be aware of. If you want to sell that hot rookie, let's say you just pulled an awesome kind of griffin card, and you know, hey, I had this in a 10, I'm going to be able to maybe triple my value out of this. It may not be worth it because you're selling peak. It could pass you by while that card is in grading. You do not want that to happen. You don't want to be caught holding the bag, paying extra to grade a card when you pass that player's peak and you could have just sold it raw. Something to definitely keep in mind is those turnaround times. For me personally, that the things that I try to grade, the largest part of my collection that I have graded are my Bowman prospects, guys that I'll be holding for a while that I don't think are going to make their debut soon. So I think their debuts can be the best time to sell. Or also players that won't have a value hit. Otani, always a good guy to grade right now. And has been for the past few years. Judge, with other established vets, people that their prices aren't as volatile. You know, my Soto and my Mets that I've added to my PC. I don't mind getting them graded because those are going to be either forever items or for Mets fans, he's going to be around for 15 years. So you know that he's going to be around for a while. No reason to think that he won't remain hobby relevant for a long time. So something to keep in mind. That's just the way I do it. There is no one way to look at grading, but that's how me personally what I found I've had the most success with. The other reason why you might want to grade, I guess it wouldn't be considered grading. You just want to slab it. People do this with one-on-ones. Some people will tell you don't grade one-on-ones because it doesn't matter. I'm okay with grading them. The one-on-ones I've had, I've graded a few. It's helped me to sell them easier. Getting them slabbed, it protects the card. It opens you to more sellers. Some marketplaces, if it's a really big card, I think Golden will want it graded anyway. It just helps and make sure that there's no issues with getting that one-on-one into sellers' hands. So something to keep in mind. As far as what grading entails, what they are looking at, the grading companies themselves, they are looking at four things. They are looking at surface, centering, corners, and edges. This is for the front and back. Do not forget the back of the card. So the first thing, surface. Are there any dents, scratches, any noticeable defects? Paper and chrome, you can look at differently. Chrome is more susceptible to scratches, of course, and dents. Paper, you can have discolorations for the surface, other defects, but surface tends to be more of a problem with chrome in my experience, with the modern stuff, than with paper. Centering, you gotta look at top to bottom and left to right. Don't forget front and back. I believe PSA is somewhere around, has to be better than 40, 60. They publish the numbers. I think that it might even be more strict, like 55, 45 to get a 10. You can usually notice it with the naked eye. There are tools to help you figure out centering. Some people use apps. There's none that I would recommend right now. There are some physical tools where you can place something above it. I think Brett Kleiman is even working on a physical device to be able to do that. So something to look for. You can follow him on Twitter if you want to see. BK breaks. But centering, there are tools to help you determine that. Besides that, it's pretty self-explanatory. Corners, is there any whiting on the corners? Do they look dented at all? Usually you can see this with the naked eye. You really want to give it a good look. Just one corner can keep you away from a 10. So definitely something to keep in mind when you're looking at those cards. Want to get them graded. Paper cards for me, it's a little harder to see the corners on. Chrome, it's very easy for me to see as far as if there's any whiting on there. Also depends on the color of the card. A card with a black border to the edge, you're really going to be able to see the corners and the edges a lot better as far as if there's any defects. Something that, of course, the grading companies can see as well. The last factor they're looking at is the edges. Again, any whiting. Is there any peeling? Is there any phrase front and back? Next up, let's go over what are the best things to grade. The first thing, it's just cards that are playing worth it. You don't want to pay to grade more than a card is worth. I usually need the card to be worth at least$50 raw. Unless it's a prospect I really believe in, I usually want it to be worth at least$75 in a 10. Those grade, the grading services with PSA, it's going to be about$25 minimum per card, depending on what service you use. Also, the kinds of cards are something that you want to keep in mind. I've had more success with Chrome than with paper, but some people will tell you the other way around because Chrome has those surface issues that can be read more easily when the cars are getting rated. The ultra premium sets I do see to have better quality too. Like gilded, I've had more success getting tens. Uh, black and white, for whatever reason, has a really high gem rate. So the card set itself, top series one or flash of product, can be a little tougher to get graded, and the pops can be crazy depending on what card. It's really tough to get gems on patch cards, thicker stock, and die cut cards. I try to avoid getting that graded unless you have someone with a lot of experience maybe looking the card over. Die cut cards pretty much have more edges, and the die cutting system is not perfect. So it tends to have issues. Thicker stock, that there's just a larger margin for error. Same with patch cards. It's really tough to get tens out of that. I also don't like to grade in case cards like dynasty, black and white, pristine. They generally generally hold more value in case than as a PSA 9. And in that top loader, it can be hard to evaluate the condition. Sometimes you can't clearly see the edges, especially. Those are usually thicker cards, too. So it might be tough. What I really like to grade are the Bowman cards that are going to be sitting anyway, those prospects. I'm hoping you're going to pan out in a couple of years. You don't want that prospect to go off and then decide to get it graded. So I like to have that card ready to go, have a PSA 10 of a few of their cards. Maybe I want to offload some when they're getting really hot, or maybe they just are about to make their debut. All of a sudden, you just don't want to be caught off guard and be scrambling to get those cards graded to try to get the max value out of it. Next up is how to get it graded. So the first option is to just send it in yourself direct. You will prep your own cards, prep as in, wipe it down, protect the card yourself. PSA I say use card savers to do this, not top loaders. And usually you'll do this through the mail. They do have drop-off events more at higher population areas or at big card shows. But you're probably going to be preparing this in the mail. Usually I'll put my cards together, grab some cardboard, just like when you probably get cards shipped. So put the cards together in the correct order, put cardboard on either side that are slightly bigger than the card, and then some painter's tape around that, and you're good to go. The second option that you have is to go through a third party. I would recommend finding an authorized dealer. My favorite service is Gem Mint, GemMint.com. They also have a Facebook group. They have an easy form to fill out. They will do prep services for you at about$1 extra per card, less I checked. They will do a grade review, but that is at an extra cost as well if you want that. So if they they have a better eye than you, of course, have experience with tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of cards. They can provide you with input on whether or not they think a card will tend. Of course, there are no guarantees, but they can tell you if there are any noticeable flaws that would prevent from jamming that a regular person usually can't see. And they can even provide and put your cards into card savers for you, which is helpful because most collectors don't carry card savers. And you can buy some yourself, but yeah, I just when I was first getting cards graded, that was my go-to. You're also not charged for them until the cards are ready. Same with uh sending in yourself. Gem Mint provides text messages updates through each step as well. So that is certainly helpful as well. Um, you know, you're not gonna be left wondering what step you're in. It can take a while between steps, but you'll always have communication that way, which is nice. So if your grades pop, you don't have to go in checking every day. You'll literally get a text telling you that your grades have popped. The other option is to drop off at LCS, as in local card shop, or even a card show. They do offer different benefits, but you don't need to mail yourself. A lot of people aren't comfortable mailing in cards themselves, especially high-value cards. They don't want to be the one responsible for their own cards or for insuring them. And if something happens with the mail, if something happens with the mail having to go through a claim. And these people, the LCS or the card show, they generally have the knowledge of what's a grade and they can advise you further than I am, specifically to your collection and talk you through the process of what exactly you are going to expect with them and how they get you your cards back. I do not recommend going through GameStop for higher value cards. I've had, I have not done it myself, but what I've heard is generally it's favorable, but I have heard some negative things. The biggest reason why I'm telling you not to do this is I've heard that if your GameStop closes, then you have to go to the next closest one to get your cards. For some people, that could be a huge issue. I can't 100% confirm this, but I have heard it from pretty good sources that this is the case. So, GameStop, hopefully you don't have to worry about your GameStop closing, but if it does, just something to keep in mind, especially when you can have those really lengthy times. I wouldn't trust them to be experts exactly with the cards. You know, your experiences can vary, but obviously they do other things that are not like an LCS that's focused just on cards. Something to keep in mind. It is an option that is out there, though. So if you have lower value cards and you just want a quick, easy way to go down to your local GameStop and do it, you can, but I really don't recommend it for higher value cards, or if there's a chance where you think, like, hey, my GameStop is on the way out. All right, and then there is, of course, who to grade with. So there are a few different options. It depends on what you're looking to get graded, what value you want and are looking for, and just playing who you like. The four that I'll mention are PSA, Beckett, SGC, and Tag. Personally, I have only graded with PSA. So for the other three, take my advice with a grain of salt if you'd like. But there's a reason why I have only graded with PSA. It is the best value. It's not the cheapest, and it's not the fastest. It has the highest cost and the longest weight. But this is where you are, this is where you will generally get the best return for your money. This is what other collectors really look for. People had their problems with PSA, but at the end of the day, this is really what sells the best. The biggest complaint is getting upcharge. So PSA charges based on the card's value. And the more they charge you, also the faster turnaround time, allegedly, because I have had cards sent in at the same time where the cards where I was supposed to get them back sooner, I got back later, and vice versa. But not really something to worry about. I recommend to try to choose the correct option in the beginning. So people like to choose the cheapest option. That way they're only paying extra if their card gems, but if their card end has to be like an eight or a nine, then they don't have to pay worry about paying extra money. The reason why I recommend going with the option that really fits your card if it gems, because she only should be sending in modern cards that are going to gem is first of all, you get a card back faster and you're going to be insured for the proper value. So if something happens to your card and you choose one of those lower tiers, you're only insured up to the value of that tier. So if your card gets damaged for some reason, hopefully it doesn't happen, but it does. They deal with millions of cards. If it happens to you and you chose a tier where you're only insured up to$500, which is a thousand dollars card,$1,000 card, you're only gonna get$500 back in value or money, however, they reimburse you. But if you do it for the correct tier, then it'll be for the actual value of the card that they can find on through however they do their comps, eBay or what have you. Next up is Beckett. So Beckett is the next best option, but I think it's fallen off in recent years. It's less cost, it's a smaller turn of return on time, but you're not gonna get the same value as PSA. It's tougher grades. A 10 will be generally better valued, especially if you have that black label that's nothing like PSA like it. Black label is Beckett gives you subgrades, which people really like. So you can see your individual grades for the four properties we talked about: corners, edges, surface, and centering. You can see you have to pay to have the subs on there, but you can see that on there. And if you get tens in all of them, you get a black, pristine 10, and that label goes for a huge premium. They are ultra rare, ultra tough to get. A lot of traditionalists really like Beckett still, so it's not the worst choice, but I'm still PSA all day. It's just I have experience with them. It's the easiest way to resell a card. If this is your PC, then do whatever you want. A lot of people like to PC Beckett. There's still definitely a market out there. People aren't going to generally turn away from a card if it's Beckett, but PSA will get more eyes on it, especially because they know that they can resell it easier. Next up is SGC. I really don't have a lot of value. I really don't have any experience with them. It is an even cheaper option. It's better for vintage and PC. A lot of people love those, those slabs that they do. So just another option to keep in mind. I would really only use it for PC because I really don't collect any vintage. And the last option is tag. Again, this is really a strictly PC option, in my opinion. People think that their values are going to rise. You will see some peaks just as people get in and out seasonally from tag, it seems. They have great-looking slabs, they're all clear, but it's just unknown whether or not it can end up being the next HGA, which was at one point like the new hot slab that everyone liked the look of. But it does seem to have stronger legs. It seems to be people seem to be into it for longer. So something to keep in mind. That's about all to know to get started with rating. Hopefully, this was helpful. I will do more mini sodes in the future. Thank you so much for listening. Have a great day.